Box Score Recap courtesy of Middlebury College
MEDFORD - The Middlebury men's lacrosse team scored a season-high 21 goals, as the Panthers posted a 21-14 upset win over visiting #3 Tufts on Saturday. Middlebury (5-3, 4-1) continues NESCAC play on Wednesday with a 5:00 p.m. faceoff at Hamilton, while the Jumbos (6-2, 3-1) head to Williams the same day.
The teams traded goals in the first 3:13 of the contest, but the Panthers used a 4-0 run in the span of less than two minutes to jump in front. Walker Stevens started the burst with a tally, followed by a score from Billy Curtis. Gray Thomas made it 4-1 Middlebury with a nice individual effort circling the cage, while Johnny Kantaros scored directly off the ensuing faceoff for a 5-1 edge. Tufts tallied five of the next seven goals in the frame to close to within 7-6 after 15 minutes of play. Jack Boyden netted the final goal for the Jumbos in that stretch, with a hard shot from 13 yards out.
The visiting Jumbos tied the game at 7-7 with just under 1:30 expired into the second stanza, as Tommy Swank scored his second of the game, cashing in on a nice setup from Cam Decristo. That turned out to be the only goal of the frame for Tufts, while Middlebury rattled off six-straight tallies to close the half. Jack Sheehan started the run with a bounce shot with 12:43 on the clock for an 8-7 edge, while Russell Thorndike sandwiched goals around a William Ryan tally. Sheehan made it 12-7 with a missile into the top-right corner and Tyler Forbes pushed it to a 13-7 cushion at the break, taking a feed from behind the net from Tom Conley.
The margin stayed at six goals by the end of the third frame, as each team found the back of the net three times. Swank scored two of Tufts' goals and Boyden had the other as the Jumbos trailed 15-10 after 45 minutes.
The Panthers had a huge momentum boost early in the final quarter, muting a Jumbo man-up situation. Andrew Ng caused a turnover and quickly got Middlebury into transition, as Curtis scored with 12:35 on the clock for a 17-10 lead. The closest the Jumbos got was 19-13 with 3:51 left to play on a score by Charlie Tagliaferri (pictured), who also had two assists for Tufts. Ryan and Conley added goals for the hosts to cement the 21-14 final.
Curtis had a big game for the Panthers with four goals and three assists, while Forbes added four scores and one assist. Ryan chipped in with three tallies and a helper, with Ng collecting a team-high seven ground balls. William Munroe went 11-20 on faceoffs and Garrett Hawthorne won 9-18. Finn O'Connor registered sixteen saves, as the Panthers held the highest-scoring team in Division III to seven goals under their season average.
Swank paced Tufts with six goals and Boyden had a hat trick with two assists. Camden Kelleher led all players with eight ground balls and Kyle Adelmann caused three turnovers. Joey Waldbaum caused two turnvoers and collected three GBs. Conner Garzone finished with 17 stops for the Jumbos.
Middlebury held a 62-49 advantage in shots and a solid 48-39 edge in ground balls.
